


Grass is Greener

by skyhill



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Just a lot of serious topics like that I guess, M/M, also expect a lot of banter between teresa and minho, but there will be fluff and other stuff I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:58:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4267638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyhill/pseuds/skyhill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas is volunteering at the hospital for the summer and is assigned to a stubborn and troubled patient known for scaring off just about every nurse in the place with his cold attitude. While apprehensive at first, he is eventually convinced to accept the challenge of befriending one Newt Isaacs before his discharge date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this work is from the song Grass is Greener by Watsky. You should totally listen to it.

Thomas hated hospitals.

He’d spent a large portion of his youth in them at his sick father’s bedside. The quiet sobs and whispered prayers in the lobby reminded him of his mother's as she clutched her husband’s hand like a life line. He never understood why they had to sit in a room for hours, staring at his sleeping father and listening to the irritating beeps of machines. He never understood why they couldn’t just wait until he woke up to go and see him.

Thomas didn’t understand when one day, the beeping stopped. It was replaced by a long and drawn out noise that  went unheard as his mother’s screams filled the room. He didn’t understand when nurses filled the room and tugged his sobbing mother back out with them. He didn’t understand when one of the nurses took his hand with the softest smile he’d ever seen, asking him if he’d like to go for a walk. He didn’t understand when he was surrounded by unfamiliar people who seemed to know at the park dressed in black. He didn’t understand why they all stared at his sleeping father in a strange box the way he once had in the hospital. He didn’t understand until he expressed his confusion to his cousin who looked at him with a sad smile and held his hand a little tighter.

“Your daddy isn’t sleeping, Tom. He’s in heaven.”

After that, he understood.

Now, at age 19, he’s back at square one.

Sitting in the lobby of a hospital is just as annoying as sitting in an actual patient room, he realized. The beeps are instead replaced by the clicking noise of the receptionist's nails on a keyboard, and the smell of... hospital reeked throughout the whole place. He didn't realize just how annoyed he was until he felt a hand on his twitchy leg, halting it. His eyes quickly found a tanned hand on his knee, and he looked up to see two pairs of eyes on him.

"Are you alright, Tom?" Teresa asked, a look of concern on her face.

Minho, the owner of the hand, nodded. "Seriously, dude, your damn leg's been shaking since we sat down and you look like you're about to shit yourself." 

Thomas sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. He hadn't realized his stress and irritation had been that visible.

"Nah, I'm good, guys. I just want to get started already." he lied, giving them both a small smile.

"Well, you're in luck!" a woman's voice said, causing the three of them to all look up at the nurse that had approached them. She glanced at the group that assembled in the lobby. She nodded as she lifted a clipboard up to read from.

"My name is Brenda, and I'll be in charge of you guys! I'd like to thank you for choosing to volunteer at Homestead Memorial Hospital." Brenda lowered the clipboard slightly and gave a smile to the group. "So, I'll go over how everything works for the first-year volunteers." 

Thomas watched as the girl flipped up a page on her clipboard, her high ponytail shifting as she tilted her head. Her eyes were shining and she seemed genuinely excited about leading them all. Thomas hoped that would make the experience a bit more bearable. He could definitely handle some cuties around his temporary "workplace", of sorts.

"Alright, so! Everyone will be assigned a patient to work with. You will be responsible for spending time with this patient whenever you're available. At least three times a week would be best.. We randomly paired you, so please let me know if you are having any issues with your new friend! I'll go ahead and pass out your info sheets with your patient's details, and then you can head off! Remember to meet in the cafeteria for lunch at noon!" 

The three friends stood up as Brenda began calling out names and handing out the papers. Teresa and Minho got theirs rather quickly and stood by their chairs waiting for Thomas, who was called last.

"Thomas!" Brenda smiled widely at him. "You're Teresa's cousin, right? She talks about you all the time."

The boy smiled at her, nodding. "Yeah, yeah. Hopefully it was good, or I'll kick her butt."

Brenda laughed at this, handing him his paper. "Alright, your patient is named Newt. He's, uh... a bit stubborn. He doesn't usually keep the same nurses for long for that reason, but please try your best. He needs someone positive to be there for him."

Thomas nodded and took the paper. He was a pretty positive guy, so he accepted the challenge willingly. He gave a wave to Brenda before joining back up with the others.

"I've got a girl named Harriet, her little bio makes her seem sweet! Who'd you get, Minho?" Teresa turned to Minho, smiling at her cousin as he approached.

"Uh... Sonya, female, 17, blonde... sounds like my type of patient." he smirked, earning a look from both the brunettes staring him down. 

"Mine's name is Newt, apparently he's a bit of a downer." Thomas let out a chuckle.

"Shouldn't be too hard for you, then, huh?" Minho replied knowingly. "Alright, shanks! Let's get going, yeah?"

**

Thomas glanced down at his paper as he stood in the elevator. Newt was on floor 5, section A, room 250. Considering the amount of rooms on each floor, it shouldn't be too far from the elevator doors. He let out a sigh as the elevator doors opened with a  _ding!_ and stepped out slowly. Part of him was excited to meet this Newt character, but mostly he just wanted to go home and play Xbox with his younger brother.

But alas, here he was, in front of Newt's door. It was shut but there was a green stripe above the door handle, which he learned from his info sheet meant he could come in. With one last sigh, he knocked to signify his presence before turning the handle and pushing the heavy door open.

Once he was inside, he took in the sight with furrowed brows. Only blonde tufts stuck out from under the white hospital blankets, and Newt had a casted leg up in a sling. A long, skinny arm littered with bruises and cuts hung out from under the blanket as well, fingers just barely grazing the tiled floor. Just as Thomas was about to clear his throat, the arm reached up to tug the blanket down.

He was met with a rather grumpy looking boy, head wrapped up in gauze and a large bruise on one side of his face that reached all the way up to a dark brown eye. His lips were pulled down into a frown, which couldn't have felt good on the cuts around the area.

"I know I'm a real beauty right now, but mind not bloody staring like that? It's creepy." Newt croaked out and winced, seemingly at the pain caused by talking.

"Uh, yeah, sorry..." Thomas mumbled out quickly, scratching at the back of his neck. He stepped forward quickly, reaching a hand out for the boy to shake. "I'm Thomas, I'm here to, um... keep you company, I guess."

"Don't need no buggin' company." With that, the blanket was pulled up above his face again.

Thomas glanced around as if there were someone in the room to tell him how he was supposed to deal with this boy. He let out a sigh, sitting in one of the chairs beside Newt's bed. What was he supposed to do all day? Just sit here, stare at his shoes while this asshole just grumbled beneath his blankets for a few hours?

"Who sent you here?" Newt asked, interrupting the brief silence.

"Huh?"

"I said," Newt replied, pulling the blanket back down to reveal himself. "Who sent you here? Was it Doctor Paige? She's a real treat, ain't she?"

"No, no, it was uh... Brenda, the nurse?" Thomas told him, clearly confused about why that was relevant.

Newt let out a little scoff and shook his head. "So you're one of them volunteers, yeah? Here to get me feeling right chipper 'n all that?"

"Guess so." Thomas muttered and smiled at the boy.

They might not have gotten off to a perfect start, and it may be a difficult task, but Thomas was extremely determined to befriend Newt by the end of the summer.

The blonde boy sat up as much as he could with the way his leg was propped up and gave Thomas a bored yet amused look.

"Well, good luck with that."


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for coming back for more and thank you all again for your overwhelming support and kindness on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one! I tried to make it a little longer for you guys (only by about 600 words or so...), let me know if you prefer this length. Also, this one is a bit more dialogue heavy than the last one. Sorry if that's a bother! 
> 
> EDIT: This chapter had to be deleted and reuploaded because I made some little errors while editing it. Sorry about that!

Thomas soon found out that luck was exactly what he would need if he was going to cheer Newt up. They'd been talking for all of an hour and he'd hardly gotten anything out of him. All he could get was the occasional quip or insult directed at him or the hospital workers. Talking about himself only resulted in bored looks or feigned yawns. He attempted to ask questions about Newt, too. Anything from his home life to who the flowers on his table were from, but got similar results. The brunette's annoyance grew along with Newt's smug smirk at each response. Thomas gave up eventually, opting to pull out his phone and text Minho to see how he was doing. Before he could even finish typing, Newt spoke up.

"What, I'm so boring that you need a distraction when you're supposed to be keeping me company?" the boy grumbled despite the light smirk on his face. He was so damn smug that Thomas wanted to smack that grin right off his face. Smacking a patient who's seriously injured was probably not the best idea, however, so he decided to fight back with words.

"Oh, my apologies,  _princess_ ," Thomas spat that last word and rolled his eyes. He was done playing nice. "I was just getting a little tired of being insulted by someone I'm here to help."

Newt's eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting the brunette to take him seriously. His eyes narrowed again, sending a nasty glare his way.

"I didn't ask for your help, now did I,  _Tommy_?" he spat back. "You think I want to be locked up in some buggin' hospital like this?" No, he'd rather something much different.

Thomas' phone was away now, his attention fully on the boy giving him the deadliest look he'd ever seen. If Newt wasn't confined to his cast and sling, Thomas would have expected him to leap on him and tear him to bits.

"You think _I_  want to be here?" No, this was the last thing he wanted to be doing. He was only here because he was dragged here by the others. "Maybe you should be grateful that I'm giving up my time for this!" 

Newt let out a loud laugh at this, one that can only be described as maniacal. "I'll be grateful when you sod off, you bloody prick!"

That was all it took for Thomas to stand up, sending his chair sliding back into the wall with the back of his legs. He gave Newt one last look before swinging the door open and nearly slamming it shut. He quickly gained composure and closed it like he hadn't just fought with the boy. He was certain he'd heard Newt yell at him once again once the door had closed, but he really couldn't care any less at the time. He was sick of that stupid boy with his stupid accent and just... stupidity. He took out his phone again, seeing no reply from Minho and checking the time. 11:50 - nearly the time he had to be down at the cafeteria. He sighed and headed for the elevator, figuring it to be fine if he was there a bit early.

**********

By the time he actually located the cafeteria (which took him about 15 minutes. he's not good with directions.), Minho and Teresa were already sat with lunch at a table. 

"Well, if it ain't Thomas! 'Bout time you showed up!" Minho called out, winking at his friend as he sat down.

"Hi, Tom." Teresa smiled, rolling her eyes at Minho as she slid a tray over towards the brunette. "I got you some food." 

"Thanks, T." he returned the smile gratefully, beginning to pick at the food she'd chosen for him. The cafeteria didn't have anything fancy, so they were all eating the same thing: a sandwich and chips from a vending machine with a bottle of water. Clearly the lap of luxury. He had just begun to pick at his chips when Teresa spoke up again.

"So, boys, how were your patients?" she asked.

Minho went first, though Thomas didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

"So, apparently there was a mistake with my patient. I did not walk into the room of the smoking hot blonde I was expecting." he sighed, shoving some of his sandwich in his mouth. "Got some cranky old bag that looks like she's gonna keel over any second."

"Serves you right!" Teresa nudged the boy's shoulder as she laughed.

"Oh, shut your shuck mouth." Minho grumbled.

"Anyways, how was your patient, Tom?" she asked, turning back to look at her cousin.

"He's the biggest tool I've met in my life,"

Minho and Teresa raised an eyebrow at this. "Yes, worse than Minho."

Their looks of confusion turned to sympathy as he continued. "All he did was insult me or make fun of something I said. Every time I tried to ask him something he just answered sarcastically and rolled his eyes! I don't know how I'm supposed to spend another  _second_  with this guy, let alone however long he's supposed to be in this place. Which is probably pretty freakin' long, going off his injuries. What an idiot."

Teresa rubbed his shoulder in attempt to comfort him, nodding her head to a table on the right of them. "Brenda's right over there, why don't you ask her to switch? No need for you to let this boy keep making you miserable."

"Yeah, you're probably right..." Thomas sighed with a nod.

Brenda was sat there with her lunch and some other nurses. She smiled at Thomas when she saw him looking, and he smiled lightly back. His best bet was just to switch patients and let someone else deal with Newt. He'd even take Minho's cranky old raisin patient over that grumpy asshole. It couldn't be much worse than him.

"Are you kidding me?" Minho asked, looking at his friends like they were crazy. "Thomas, you're seriously gonna let this dude get to you on the first day? You refuse to give up in any  _logical_  situation, but you're just gonna give up now 'cause some shank hurt your feelings?"

Thomas looked at him with uncertainty, so he continued.

"No, not today. You're gonna march your sweet ass back to that room and you are gonna win over that guy with your stupid puppy dog eyes and big heart. Just like you did with me and every other idiot you've somehow convinced to like you. You got that?" Minho was leaning across the table now with his finger out only inches away from Thomas' face.

He was right. It wasn't like Thomas to give up on people just because they didn't like him right away. Sure, most people did, but not everyone. Minho hated him until he wormed his way into the obnoxious boy's heart. He could do the same thing with Newt.

"Yeah, thanks, Min..." he mumbled with a sincere smile. "Oh, and thanks for complimenting my ass."

"No problem, how you think you convinced me to stick around?" 

Teresa laughed and shook her head. "Alright, enough of this bromance nonsense, can we just eat now?" 

*************

 As Thomas stood in the elevator, he felt confident. Minho's pep talk helped, as did just hanging out with his friends again. They always had that ability. He was motivated now to break Newt out of the shell he had built for himself, no matter how much time or energy it took. He was going to be the one to befriend this seemingly cold boy if it killed him. Or if Newt attempted to kill him which, with the way things went that morning, seemed entirely possible. He stepped out of the elevator with his head held high and let out a breath as he readied his hand on the door handle. 

"Get off me! I can do it myself!"

Thomas jumped back as the door swung open and nearly fell as a nurse ran past him, giving an apologetic look before disappearing around the corner.

_Man, Brenda wasn't kidding when she said this shank scares off nurses._

Confused, Thomas stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

Newt was digging in a bag on his lap, the gauze that had previously been wrapped around his head now on the ground. His eyes flicked up to land on Thomas, who was already sitting himself down in one of the chairs.

"Well, look who's decided to show his ugly mug." he muttered, continuing to fish through the large bag.

"Went to get lunch - what was that all about?"

"Nurse tried cleaning up my cuts and I ain't havin' it. I'm not a bloody child." Newt grumbled, much like, well, a child.

Thomas smiled at the clearly frustrated boy. He was pulling contents out of what he could now tell was a medical kit, unsure of what exactly he should be using. Lucky for him, Thomas was a bit more educated. He'd been in boyscouts when he was younger and though he had forgotten most of what he'd learnt about first aid, he was still confident enough to clean up a couple cuts.

"Can I see the bag?" he asked, holding a hand out.

Newt turned to look at him with a confused expression. "What for?"

"So you don't end up pouring that entire bottle of alcohol on yourself." Thomas chuckled. "Come on, let me help." 

"You leave me all by my lonesome and then expect me to let you help me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not quitting on you, buddy. You're stuck with me now."

It was silent for a moment. Newt stared at Thomas in consideration, biting lightly at the inside of his cheek as he did. He wasn't used to hearing that. Thomas stared back with his hand still out to accept the bag. He was going to get through to Newt. 

"Alright, here." the blond shoved everything back in the bag before handing it over to the other boy.

Instead, Thomas stood and sat next to him on the bed, rummaging through the bag. It contained the typical first aid kit contents, as well as some more advanced things as it belonged to a nurse. He took out a wipe, examining Newt's injuries while he opened the packet. There was a gash that stretched from above his right eyebrow all the down to his cheek bone, as well as a wound just below that on his jaw.

"I don't think you'll need the gauze again," Thomas stated, finally removing the wipe. "But I still need to clean it up. Maybe put a patch on it, if that's more comfortable."

Newt just mumbled in acceptance, turning his head so Thomas could reach his wounds easier. He cautiously took Newt's chin in his hand and raised the wipe to touch the first cut. When the boy winced, Thomas pulled his hand back. 

"It'll only hurt for a second, Newt." he said softly.

He nodded, whispering an apology and refusing to look him in the eye. Thomas continued to wipe up the cuts, saying quiet apologies whenever Newt hissed in pain. He made sure to apply the necessary ointments and other antibiotics so he wouldn't get an infection. It took a while for Thomas to get the boy cleaned up, but he was proud of himself. He even spent a little extra time to get the dried blood out of the boy's blond locks. Overall, Newt looked worlds better. 

"Alright, that's it!" he exclaimed, grinning widely. "Did you need help with any others?"

"No, I think I can handle it..." he muttered, reaching up to feel his now cleaned hair. "Thanks, Tommy."

Thomas smiled in response as he sat back in his chair. "No one calls me Tommy, y'know."

Newt had gotten himself as comfortable as he could in his current position before looking back up at the boy. 

"Oh, don't I feel special." Newt said, rolling his eyes despite his smile.

A smile. A real, genuine smile from such a grumpy boy. He swelled with pride from such a simple gesture, and with good reason.

He was finally getting through to Newt.

 


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the wait was extremely long and this chapter is super short and I'm very sorry for both of those things, but I've been really busy lately and I haven't gotten a good opportunity to sit down and write something nice and long. Next chapter will be much longer and with a muuuuuuuch shorter wait time! Hope you can forgive me <3

As Thomas drove home that night, he felt satisfied with his day. He and Newt actually had the chance to have a decent conversation before Brenda came in to tell him he could get ready to leave. He didn't exactly want to just leave Newt alone when they were finally getting along, but he figured his family would probably come and see him at some point, anyways.

Thomas arrived home rather quickly, kicking off his shoes and shuffling into his home. As soon as the door shut behind him, he heard another door upstairs swing open.

"Thomas!" a voice called out. He knew who it was right away.

His younger brother Chuck came barreling down the stairs and attacked him in a tight hug before he could even blink. He chuckled lightly, ruffling the younger boy's curls. "Hey, buddy! Miss me?"

Chuck let go with a sigh. "You have no idea. It's so boring around here without you."

As Thomas let out another laugh, his mom poked her head out from the kitchen with a smile. She walked over and kissed him lightly on the head. "Hi, Tom. How was your first day?"

Thomas smiled. He'd been giving his mother hell about making him go to this stupid volunteer thing, but it really wasn't as bad as he had thought. Not towards the end, anyways.

"It was good, actually. Better than I expected." he admitted.

His mother laughed. "See, just like I told you. You really should have more faith in me, dear."

Chuck groaned, pulling on his step-brother's arm and dragging him towards the stairs. "Yeah, yeah, can we go play Mario now? I've been trying to beat this piece-of-klunk level all day!"

"God, I gotta step letting you hang out with Minho."

*********

"Was it actually good, or were you just saying that to make your mom happy?" Chuck asked from his spot on the ground.

Thomas glanced down at him. He was laying on his stomach at the end of his bed while Chuck was just below him; their typical gaming positions.

"You know me too well, Chuckie." Thomas said with a soft laugh. "But, no, it was actually okay. Y'know, after I got my new buddy to warm up to me."

"Guess that's what happens when you live with each other for three years." Chuck said, keeping his eyes locked on the screen. "What was your patient like?"

"He was _something_ , that's for sure."

Chuck groaned as his character died on screen. He took the respawn time as an opportunity to tilt his head back and look at Thomas. "What do you mean? Was he, y'know..." he lifted a hand up to his head and moved his finger in a circular motion.

"No, no, he wasn't crazy. Just..." Thomas said, pausing. "Stubborn, I guess. And a huge tool at first."

"Worse than Minho?" Chuck asked.

"Worse than Minho." Thomas confirmed.

Chuck reached back and gave Thomas' shoulder a pat. "I'm so sorry, dude."

The older boy let out a laugh, smacking the other's hand away. He really did love this kid. "It's alright, I got him to like me eventually."

\---

"Newt, you decent?"

The blonde shot up in his bed, causing just about everything to hurt. He groaned as he fell back against his pillow. "Yeah, come in, Alby."

To his surprise, Alby was joined by Brenda. Alby walked over to take a seat next to Newt's bed while Brenda went over to the machines that he was hooked up to. He paid her no mind, instead turning his attention to his friend. "All right, Alby? You don't usually come 'round on Monday's." 

 "Yeah, yeah, got out of work a bit early and thought I'd come down to see ya." Alby said with a soft smile. "How you feeling today? You look a lot better; less miserable."

Newt scoffed at that. "As good as I can be, I reckon. Bloody leg's still givin' me hell, though."

"That's good, Newt. Real good." he said, reaching over to pat his friend's shoulder. 

Alby was one of the few friend's Newt had. He was more of a brother, really. They'd been friends since middle school when Newt first moved to the U.S. from London. Friends came and went over the years, but Alby had never left his side. Every step of the way they'd been together. Every relationship, every break up, every fight, every bad day, every good day. They were always together, supporting each other through anything and everything. Even now, Newt had seen more of Alby than his own two parents since he'd been in the hospital. He was his most frequent visitor despite only coming in once during the week and twice on the weekend. Though now that Newt had Thomas...

"Hey, what're you smiling about?"

Newt's gaze snapped back to Alby. "What's that?"

"You were day dreaming with a big 'ol grin, what was that about?" Alby asked with a laugh. "You look like you just met the love of your life."

A giggle sounded from beside Newt, reminding him of Brenda's presence. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow and she just giggled more when they locked eyes.

"You've only just met him, Newt!" she exclaimed.

Alright, now he was thoroughly confused. "What are you on about?"

"Met who?" Alby asked, sounding just as confused as the other boy.

Brenda laughed. "Thomas!" 

Newt's confused expression melted into one of annoyance as the boy rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Brenda, where the hell did you get that idea?"

The girl only smiled, tapping the pen she held against her clipboard. "Newt, please. You've been here a week and scared off every nurse you've been assigned, yet somehow this boy escaped without a single scratch on him. Either you plan to escape in the night and murder him, or you like him."

Newt sighed. "He's tolerable. An idiot, sure, but a tolerable one."

Brenda just hummed, giving the two boys a little nod and wave before leaving the room. Once the door clicked shut behind her, Alby turned back to Newt.

"So, who's this Thomas boy?" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaaaaay that's it for chapter one! Please let me know what you think c:
> 
> If you didn't come here from my tumblr, you can find me at http://nnnewt.tumblr.com !! I'll be posting previews of the chapters and maybe some little updates there. You can also message me with any ideas you have for future chapters, although I've got the majority of it somewhat planned out. New chapter should be out by next week!
> 
> (also shoutout to my bud maddie for motivating me and helping me write this u da bes)


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